The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-06-30

VI tiAC ut1ci1SSlGSS state OF the
frontier, and became much holder in their
raids upon our Territories They made no
distinction of parties, but saw their oppor-
UNITY while the whites were fighting,- and
let themselves loose upon us, as there was
no one TO stop them. As soon, therefore, as
the North had whipped the South our troops
We're sent straight to the borders to uuell
the Indians. l knew that part of the coun-
| Try better than most men, and was employed
on scouting duty. The difficulty was to
hnd the enemy, who had no fixed quarters;
and men well acquainted with their habits
ana customs were required to guide the
troops in their haunts. Even when the
whereabouts of a tribe was known it was
not easy to come up with them. To follow
the trail over dry grass needed much
care and patience. A single hoof-
marx sometimes gave the only in
dlcation; this must be followed until
IL led to others, where the main body
| had passed. No tricks such as turning back
along the track ought to deceive a clever
trailer; and he must be able to move along
quickly, or he would never overtake the In
dams. The troops often got near them in
the evening too late for an attack; all night
the men would lie in wait, holding their
horses by the brides, while the scout steals
forward on foot to discover the best side to
approach. Disguised as an Indian, he can
OFTEN get close up to the encampment, upper
celved, and thus enable the commanding
officer to form his plans with certainty.
Cunning as the Indians are the white man
can beat them at their own game. Indeed,
| whether it be in shooting, or riding, or trail
ing, or anything else, IL is my experience
! that white man who is up to his business
can always Guido men of any other race in
the world, even on their own ground
Not that mean to underrate the fighting
| powers OF the Indians; our troops have often
enough had to retire, as every one knows.
Capture is the worst thing to be feared.
For this reason the Indians made but few
| prisoners. Men knew that it was better to
| die fighting than to be taken, with the fate
| in store for captives of being tortured and
burned at the stake. Yet it was not always
| possible to avoid capture, and there have
| been friends of my own who suffered that
awful death. l have been caught myself
more than once, but my good for
tune has stood by me each time.
tribe with whom we were at peace suddenly
took to the warpath. had been in their
| company in the morning and found them
| perfectly friendly, but happening to visit
the camp again in the evening l discovered
| that their attitude had changed during the
| day, and without anything to warn me I
| rode straight into the midst of the enemy,
as they had then become. Instantly the
warriors closed in upon me- circling round
and beating me with whips and clubs
The surprise was so unexpected
and l had no time to use my rife or make
| any attempt at escape, so had recourse to
stratagem. Putting bold face on, told
| them that was bringing number of cattle
| as present from the commanding officer,
who believed them to be still friendly. They
| knew that if l were killed all chance of OBJ
| tanning the cattle would be gone, and was
| allowed to retire for the purpose of collect
| ing the herd and driving it into the camp.
Once out of sight / made bolt for it and
| succeededsin reaching the fort, seventeen
| miles of, leaving the Indians to wait for the
| cattle as long as they pleased
Although their usual method of warfare
Is by means of ambuscades and surprises,
| the Indians are not afraid to meet their
enemies in a stand-up fight in the open In
| the war of 1876, when Twas chief scout under
| Gen. Carr, we came one day face to face
| with the Cheyennes, and the two forces
| were drawn up opposite each other in regu-
| lar line Of battle, about half mile apart
had been employed in SO many expedi-
| tions by this time that | had acquired a
| high reputation among the Indians as a
warrior" and while our troops were halt
| ed preliminary to an attack the Cheyenne
| chief, Yellow Hand, rode out in front of
| his line and challenged me to single COM
bat. He shouted out that he was the great
| est warrior in his own tribe, and
honored me by saying that / was reputed
| the greatest warrior among the whites If
| | dared he wanted me to come forward and
| fight it out with him, to see which of us
proved the better man. l accepted his
| challenge, of course, and rode TO meet him
without delay. We both had rifles and. both
our horses were soon shot under us. Then
we continued the battle on foot, he with a
| tOmahawk, | with bowie-knife. But was
| too quick for him, and at last as he was
raising his arm to strike | seized hold of it
and held hinf wntil | could deal a decisive
| blow. have his scalp now; had it ended
| the other way he would have had mine, for
one of us must have been killed.
That affair was thought a great deal of
| by the Indians, for Yellow-Hand was ia
NOUS chief, and after it was looked upon
as a mighty warrior indeed, although, as
| have said, a white man does not really de-
serve any special credit for beating an In
dian when they meet on equal terms. Still,
it is good thing for man who has to deal
much with Indians to gain their respect as
| fighter. When peace is made they will
always come in first to the man that has
fought them hardest. They are great adj
| mirers of bravery and skill on the war
path, and although they will devise every
possible means for killing an enemy and
| taking his scalp, vet the oftener he defeats
| them in battle, the further he outwits them
| in trailing, and the more of their braves he
Stays, SO much the more do they look up to
| him as a great warrior, and when the
war is over pay him all honor if he visits
| this country.
Ihave frequently proved this to be the
| case during the hunting expeditions / have
| organized, when we have been right through
the Indian country without any mishap.
| When the Grand Duke Alexis of Russia
came over to the United States, l took him
| out in the buffalo country, and we had one
of the largest hunts can remember. OF
course we were escorted by troops, although
| the Indians were pretty quiet at the time,
| so there was no danger on that occasion.
| But it was an instance of the confidence
which the tribes place in a man they know
| and respect that was able TO fetch $50 war
riors from district 200 miles away, who
were willing to accompany me all that dis
| lance in order to give the Grand Duke a
war dance on the plains.
Only few years before had been hunt
| ing buffalo under very different circum-
stances. 1t was when the Kansas Pacific
railroed was being graded, and had under
| taken to supply the workmen with meat
| Troops were stationed all along the line to
protect the works, which were being carried
| through a dangerous Indian country. 1t
was not safe to go even few miles from
| the soldiers but meat had to be procured,
and used to take my chance, often travel
| ing six. ten or even fifteen miles after game